Zair Ahmed, The Fijian Firelord, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist.
Chezqah Agnir, Sophia Gawan-Taylor and Zair Ahmed.
Curated by Angelina Allen
Gallery 2
Friday 3 October - Sunday 26 October
Opening Thursday 2 October 2025, 6pm-8pm
The philosophical notion of ‘six degrees of separation’ is rooted in the idea that all people, no matter where they are in the world, are no fewer than six social connections from one another. Often used to conceptualise the interconnectedness of the human experience, the theory places emphasis on the significance of social networks within the day to day. This is the binding ideal of Six Degrees.
An exploration of young and emerging Australian artists and the ways in which their practice in portraiture connects them to the world around them, Six Degrees examines and exemplifies the intertwining nature of relationships and personhood through their artmaking practice.
Within this exhibition artists Chezqah Agnir, Sophia Gawan-Taylor and Zair Ahmed cross-examine the traditional means through which artists convey a sitter in diverse multidisciplinary and unique approaches to portraiture. With their mediums of choice spanning photography, painting, sculpture and graphite sketch, Agnir, Ahmed and Gawan-Taylor are enabled to portray personhood in unique and innovative ways. Each adds depth to their portrayals of traditional subject matter through the incorporation of both corporeal and conceptual depictions of sitters in their art, creating a collection of singular artworks in a cohesive whole.
Six Degrees is broadly demonstrative of emerging portrait artists and the enmeshment of their personal and artistic lives in practice. These artists’ work collectively give voice to the intersection of tradition and innovation needed to capture the nuances of expanding contemporary social networks.
About the Artists
Chezqah Agnir
Janne Chezqah Agnir is an illustrative artist, and was born in 2004, Cebu (Philippines). She is based in Sydney, Australia, where she migrated with her parents in 2005. Beginning her art journey as a child, she was encouraged and supported by her parents, uncle, and grandfather as she explored her capabilities and nurtured her curiosities. Chezqah brought her love of art and design to Whitehouse Institute of Design where she completed a Bachelor of Design (Interior Design) in 2023. Having deepened her illustration skills and knowledge of perspective during her study, the natural and built environments remain subjects of interest alongside portraits of friends and family.
Settling on the reliable pen and pencil as her medium of choice, Chezqah opts for coloured pencils, inks, and markers when creating works with colour. Currently, she is fascinated with glass, and aims to continue to improve her skills and remain dedicated to her artmaking practice, finding time to sketch during commutes and work break times.
Sophia Gawan-Taylor
As a Sydney based artist and medical student, Sophia Gawan-Taylor’s practice lies at the intersection of science, medicine, art, and the visceral beauty of human existence. Working primarily in oil and mixed media, her work is a meditation on the female form, anatomy, and interconnectedness. Through their artmaking, they explore the ways we as humans are intrinsically linked—not only to each other but also to the natural world around us.
Sophia’s work invites the viewer to be reminded that our each and every cell is fundamentally composed of the same carbon atoms that form the plants on the ground and the stars in the sky. We are likewise bound together by invisible threads of relationships, experiences, and shared humanity. They seek to visualize these connections, blending the intimacy of anatomy with the vastness of nature to reflect the interconnectedness of the human experience – to see the art in medicine, the science in art; the personal with the universal; and the organic with the social.
Zair Ahmed
Zair Ahmed is a Canberra based photographer and writer whose work centres on human stories of resilience, joy, and cultural identity. His practice blends intimate portraiture, interviews, and reflective writing to explore how people find meaning and belonging within rapidly changing worlds. He is the founder of Humans of Canberra, a storytelling project that reached over 14,000 people online, and his work has been exhibited internationally, most recently in the exhibition Homes at Strathnairn Arts.
Zair has created and documented projects across Vietnam, India, Morocco, Egypt, and Southeast Asia, often focusing on cultural intersections and everyday moments of beauty. His travels have inspired long-form series on themes such as happiness in Northern Vietnam, Berber traditions in the Sahara, and intergenerational perspectives in Northern Thailand. Having grown up in the Middle East before moving to Australia, he brings the perspective of both insider and outsider, seeking shared humanity through image and story